Lyrebird

Doyle, Matthew


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Artist:
Doyle, Matthew

Title:
Lyrebird

Genre:
Traditional Didjeridu

Musicians:
MusicianInstruments
Matthew Doyledidjeridu
Michael Athertonpercussion

Format:
CD, Playing time 52:30 minutes

Track List:

  1. New Beginning - 8:05
  2. Mouth Music - 3:29
  3. Tongue Talk - 1:48
  4. Hand Stencils - 6:03
  5. Wiridjiribin: the First Lyrebird - 3:12
  6. Cave Drawings - 4:47
  7. Didjeri-Duo - 7:48
  8. Courtship Dance - 2:58
  9. Songbird - 4:04
  10. Mungari - 9:35

Publisher No.:
(1996) Black Sun - 15023-2 , Black Sun Music, PO Box 30122, Tucson, AZ 85751 Email: 72120.3673@compuserve.com WWW: www.harmonies.com

Comments:
In this recording, musician and dancer Matthew Doyle sings the lyrebird in the only known recording of a song in the Tharawal language. He mimics the bird's own call using both voice and didjeridu to celebrate the survival and renewal of the lyrebird. Voice, didjeridu and percussion are combined in a program which contributes to the mythology of the bird. The album opens with New Beginning (didjeridu) with the didjeridu exploring the theme of creation, followed by Mouth Music (voice, didjeridu, drums) in which Matthew vocalizes as if he were performing a traditional dance. Mimicry, a feature of the lyrebird's sublimity is continued in Tongue Talk (voice). The rhythmic articulations are typical of Arnhem Land style playing, but are chanted here rather than played into the instrument. Hand Stencils (didjeridu, bass drum, roto toms, temple blocks, panflute) is a response to the process of grinding and preparing ochres in liquid forma and using the mouth to spray the paint over hands onto rocks. The song Wiridjiribin: the First Lyrebird (voice, clapsticks) represents a significant moment in both the cultural and linguistic history of New South Wales. Matthew composed the song in the language of the Tharawal people to celebrate their lyrebird totem. This song is a reconstruction of fragments of a language, no longer spoken, collected from library sources. It describes how the first lyrebird was created. The final spoken line means "the spirit lives forever with the Tharawal people". Cave Drawings (didjeridu, vibraphone) refers to drawings of lyrebirds close to Sydney. Didjerid-duo (two didjeridu) begins with an excerpt of a recording made on a misty, damp morning in rainforest country in the Blue Mountains, 100 kms west of Sydney - an ideal time and place to hear the lyrebird. The accompanying didjeridu, played by Michael Atherton, was made by Matthew. Courtship Dance (didjeridu, Korean drum, egg shaker) is about the mating ritual and the rhythm of renewal. In Song Bird (voice, waterphone) Matthew mimics a lyrebird mimicking other birds. The last track Mungari (didjeridu) means "singing". Here Matthew renders a technically virtuosic display of lyrebird, cockatoo, brolga, kookaburra, boobook and emu calls.
Reviewer: Michael Atherton

The Australian Lyrebird is unique. Though shy and elusive, this magnificient creature who mimics the cries of other songbirds, has been depicted in rock engravings and drawings by indigenous artists for thousands of years.

Inspired by the mimicry of the rare Australian songbird, musician and dancer Matthew Doyle sings the lyrebird in the only known recording of a song in the Tharawal language. He mimics the bird's own call using both voice and didjeridu to celebrate the survival and renewal of the lyrebird.

The album opens with New Beginning with the didjeridu exploring the theme of creation, followed by Mouth Music, in which Matthew vocalizes as if he were performing a traditional dance. Mimicry, a feature of the lyrebird's sublimity is continued in Tongue Talk.

In the song Wiridjirbin: The First Lyrebird, Matthew sings the lyrebird in the only known recording of a song in the Tharawal language. It represents a significant moment in both the cultural and linguistic history of New South Wales. Composed by Matthew, he mimics the bird's own call using both voice and didjeridu to celebrate the survival and renewal of the lyrebird.
This song is a reconstruction of fragments of a language, no longer spoken, and describes how the first lyrebird was created.

Cave Drawings refers to drawings of lyrebirds close to Sydney. Didjeri-duo begins with an excerpt of a recording made on a misty, damp morning in rainforest country in the Blue Mountains (100 kms west of Sydney), an ideal time and place to hear the lyrebird. The accompanying didjeridu, played by Michael Atherton, was made by Matthew.

Courtship Dance is about the mating ritual and the rhythm of renewal. In Song Bird, Matthew mimics a lyrebird mimicking other birds. In the last track Mungari (which means singing) Matthew renders a technically virtuosic display of lyrebird, cockatoo, brolga, kookaburra, boobook and emu calls.

This recording is dedicated to the memory of Aboriginal artists Malcolm Smith, and Philip Lanley who was one of Matthew's teachers.

Matthew Doyle, born in 1969, is of Aboriginal/Irish descent. He is related, on his mother's side, to the Yuwalarai people of northwest New South Wales and has been adopted into traditional families in the Northern Territory and Queensland. Matthew graduated from the National Aboriginal and Islander Skills Development Association (NAISDA) where he now teaches. He performs with the Aboriginal Islander Dance Theater and has develop-ed a passionate understanding of and response to the diversity of aborginal culture. Producer Michael Atherton, a well-known Australian musi-cian, composer and author, is featured on percussion. He can also be heard on SHOALHAVEN RISE (15019). Michael is the head of the Performing Arts Department and Professor of Music at the University of Western Sydney, Nepean.
Reviewer: Celestial Harmonies

Copyright 1997 by John Morfit - All Rights Reserved